The University of South Carolina Union (USC Union) is a

satellite campus A satellite campus, branch campus or regional campus is a campus of a university or college that is physically at a distance from the original university or college area. This branch campus may be located in a different city, state, or country, ...

of the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

(USC) in

Union, South Carolina The city of Union is the county seat of Union County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 8,393 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Union Micropolitan Statistical Area (population 28,961 a ...

. It has a branch campus in

Laurens, South Carolina Laurens is a city in Laurens County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 9,139 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Laurens County. History Located in upstate South Carolina, the city of Laurens is named after Henry Lau ...

. It is a part of the

University of South Carolina System The University of South Carolina System is a state university system collection of campuses established in 1957 to expand the educational opportunities of the citizens of South Carolina as well as extend the reach of the University of South Carol ...

and one of the four regional USC campuses which make up Palmetto College. USC Union is accredited by the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is a regional educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. As of 2022, the organization oversees ap ...

and awards associate degrees in both art and science. USC Union is also able to offer the USC Aiken Bachelor of Science in Nursing through a partnership with

USC Aiken The University of South Carolina Aiken (USC Aiken or USCA) is a public university in the Aiken, South Carolina area. It is part of the University of South Carolina System and offers undergraduate degree programs as well as master's degrees. Addi ...

, allowing students to complete the entirety of their studies at either the Union or Laurens campus.

History

In the 1960s, the citizens of Union formed the Union County Commission for Higher Education to attract a college to their area. The University of South Carolina sought to expand its reach throughout the state and agreed to build an extension campus in Union. Classes began at the campus in 1965 with an initial enrollment of 51 students.

Athletics

USC Union's athletics department, USC Union Bantam Athletics (or simply Bantam Athletics), is home to a variety of competitive sports teams including men's

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

as well as women's

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

and

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

, all of which compete at the

junior college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...

level. Bantam Athletics also has a rifle team, a

bass fishing Bass fishing is the recreational fishing activity, typically via rod-based angling, for various North American freshwater game fishes known collectively as '' black bass''.Henshall, James A. (Dr.), ''Book of the Black Bass'', Cincinnati, OH: R ...

team, and

e-sports Esports (), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams. ...

gaming which compete at the club level.

Clubs and Organizations

USC Union has a number of student organizations: * African American Association * Art Club * Garden and Botany Club * Research Club *

Rotaract Rotaract originally began as a Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote int ...

Club * Student Government Association

Festivals

USC Union hosts two annual festivals.

Upcountry Literary Festival

Created and directed by Randall Ivey, the Upcountry Literary Festival allows poets, musicians, storytellers, playwrights, essayists, and short-story writers the opportunity to gather and share their works. It was held virtually in 2021.

Latin American Film Festival

The Latin American Film Festival is held in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:South Carolina, University of, Union University of South Carolina System University of South Carolina Union University of South Carolina Union Education in Union County, South Carolina Buildings and structures in Union County, South Carolina Education in Laurens County, South Carolina